Starman Read Free Page B

other. He was trying to control his emotions, but some of what he was feeling crept unbidden into what was supposed to be a professional, dispassionate report. For that he couldn’t be blamed, since he’d never seen anything like what he was trying to describe before. What he didn’t know was that neither had anyone else.
    “I don’t know what it is,” he was yelling into the mike. “All I saw coming down was a big ball of fire. Burning airliner, maybe. Better get some choppers and maybe a tanker up here—she’s building fast. Heavy smoke. Not too much wind, but you know how dry it’s been up here and the undergrowth’s like tinder. Just saw a firebrand leap one trail.”
    The explorer watched thoughtfully from his vantage point until the pickup truck had disappeared down the road. Then he considered his position with respect to the rapidly expanding forest fire, the as yet untorched sections of woods, and the nearby lake. He began to move again. Anyone else flying low over the lake that night might have seen a strange golden glow dancing across the water. Or maybe it was just the moon.
    The lake was not large and the explorer soon reached the far side. There he found a single building, a small shelter of some kind with a sharply angled roof. He drifted above it, studying both the structure and the surrounding trees. There were small furry things in the growths and on the ground. They did not react to the explorer’s presence. Methodically he assigned each a place within his mental catalog, estimating the intelligence and impact on the environment of every living thing he saw.
    This done, he drifted low toward the artificial habitation and cautiously circled it. There was no sign of movement from within. Out in front was a sign with an example of primitive writing on it. It read FOR SALE .
    Moving around the side, the explorer came upon a smaller, separate structure. It was not as well built as the other. Another of the simple land-bound vehicles rested within: a 1977 Mustang with oversized rear wheels and racing tires, chrome pipes, and a metal-flake paint job. Someone had lavished a great deal of love and care on that car, but it made no special impression on the explorer, who merely identified it as a machine similar in type and purpose to the forest ranger’s pickup.
    A sudden noise made him freeze. The sound was sharp and metallic, though not unpleasant. He moved toward it, relaxed when he saw that it was activated only by meteorological conditions and not intelligent purpose. The wind chimes tinkled again, loud against the night. A simple device, but not without charm.
    The chimes disturbed Jenny Hayden without waking her. She moaned softly in her sleep and turned over on the bed. One arm reached across the sheets as if groping for someone who wasn’t there. Then the wine and pills took hold again and she fell silent once more.
    The entrance to the structure was sealed, though not tightly. After locating a sufficient opening, the explorer entered by seeping through the crack under the front door, following a route often used by bugs and mosquitoes but utilizing a radically different method of locomotion.
    Once inside he gathered himself again and rose to the ceiling to survey the building’s interior. He recorded and analyzed.
    Had he been familiar with local culture he immediately would have recognized a household in the process of being moved. Boxes half full of books and clothing and kitchenware were scattered around the room. Others were stacked neatly in one corner, sealed with packing tape, their contents marked in black crayon.
    Not everything had been packed yet, however. The explorer dropped to the floor and began to inspect the unpacked goods. There was the nearly empty wine bottle, the projector, a blender, a small microwave oven, and more. The explorer paid equal attention to each item, occasionally moving one or another in order to gain a better look at back or insides. His inspection was not